Emily Wilkins

Michigan State University

Emily Wilkins first became interested in writing as a child, when she started reading novels.

“My friends would yell at me at sleepover parties,” said Wilkins, 21, a junior majoring in journalism at Michigan State University. “I would always find a bookshelf and start reading.”

Wilkins, the daughter of a mechanical engineer and a physical therapist aide, said journalism has been her calling since high school. A visiting alumna spoke to her class and mentioned graduating from Michigan State with a degree in journalism. For Wilkins, the experience solidified what she wanted to do.

“Journalism was all I heard, and I went up to her after class and bombarded her with questions,” Wilkins said. “I knew journalism was definitely what I wanted to do. Even on a rough day I could look back and see what I’ve done.”

While still in high school, Wilkins became an intern at her hometown paper, the Farmington Observer in Farmington Hills, Mich., and simultaneously wrote for her school newspaper.

At Michigan State, she’s been a reporter and city editor at The State News, the student newspaper covering the university. Last summer, she was an intern with The Gazette, a daily paper in Colorado Springs. Starting in February, she’ll be an intern with the Houston Chronicle’s Washington, D.C., bureau.

Wilkins said she aspires to become an investigative reporter, to keep the public informed and hold public officials accountable.

“With investigative journalism, you’re getting down and dirty with the story,” she said, adding: “I don’t know who else is going to watch them if I don’t. I feel like I have a voice when I write.”

- Louis Casiano